Guy is mostly a Zelda-like game. You journey through dungeons, defeat monsters and bosses to reach a goal. There are 3 play styles and these are: move and attack with the mouse only, keyboard and mouse and a keyboard only build. However, the basic deal is the same. Personally I enjoy the mouse only mode myself.
Now, I'm all for funny jokes and things but Guy is full of jokes I have heard so many times before. This means that by this stage I am a bit sick of them. I thought we were done hearing "Over Nine Thousand" references. But, alas apparently not. There are some genuinely funny moments but they are few and far between and don't add to the game. This coupled with numerous spelling mistakes (I'm one to talk) make the whole story element a bit cumbersome. However, Guy isn't really about sweeping you away with a epic tale. Instead, Guy is more about enjoying a decent dungeon explorer at a more casual pace.
The gameplay is where Guy shines. As I said before, personally, I prefer the mouse only controls. Only needing to use one hand really adds to the casual feel and tone of the game making it simple and accessible to play. The range of enemies that are introduced throughout the game is quite diverse and each uses different tactics to try and defeat you. This ranges from exploding goo over you slowing and stunning, to quick leaps and pounces that need to be fly countered and dodged. This makes the combat hectic and paced even if it can mean that enemies can combo you to death quite easily. Although since you can get amulets to increase your lives it means you can learn from your previous mistakes.
The live system in Guy is quite interesting. It uses an in-game item an 'amulet' that gives you extra lives. These lives are refreshed at each checkpoint on a dungeon. This can be useful if you have just had a difficult room. However, it can also make the game a bit unbalanced. This especially because it is relatively cheap to buy the more powerful amulets that give the most lives. Having a powerful amulet at the during the beginning of the game can lead it it feelings very easy, resulting in a few deaths meaning nothing as you have lots more lives. It is, however, an interesting take on the life system that works well, even if it has a few balance issues.
b>General Information
Now, I'm all for funny jokes and things but Guy is full of jokes I have heard so many times before. This means that by this stage I am a bit sick of them. I thought we were done hearing "Over Nine Thousand" references. But, alas apparently not. There are some genuinely funny moments but they are few and far between and don't add to the game. This coupled with numerous spelling mistakes (I'm one to talk) make the whole story element a bit cumbersome. However, Guy isn't really about sweeping you away with a epic tale. Instead, Guy is more about enjoying a decent dungeon explorer at a more casual pace.
The gameplay is where Guy shines. As I said before, personally, I prefer the mouse only controls. Only needing to use one hand really adds to the casual feel and tone of the game making it simple and accessible to play. The range of enemies that are introduced throughout the game is quite diverse and each uses different tactics to try and defeat you. This ranges from exploding goo over you slowing and stunning, to quick leaps and pounces that need to be fly countered and dodged. This makes the combat hectic and paced even if it can mean that enemies can combo you to death quite easily. Although since you can get amulets to increase your lives it means you can learn from your previous mistakes.
The live system in Guy is quite interesting. It uses an in-game item an 'amulet' that gives you extra lives. These lives are refreshed at each checkpoint on a dungeon. This can be useful if you have just had a difficult room. However, it can also make the game a bit unbalanced. This especially because it is relatively cheap to buy the more powerful amulets that give the most lives. Having a powerful amulet at the during the beginning of the game can lead it it feelings very easy, resulting in a few deaths meaning nothing as you have lots more lives. It is, however, an interesting take on the life system that works well, even if it has a few balance issues.
Along side buying amulets to buff your lives, Guy also have a range of weapons that can be upgraded. Each weapon has a different play style. For example, swords are your all-rounders, spears attack fast but do less damage and axes are your heavy hitters. Each upgrade increases their power, but there are only a few upgrades person weapon so this is a somewhat limited system. Along with weapons there are also three skills that can be unlocked and then upgraded. While these are a nice addition they are limited to three levels apiece and can be maxed out fairly easily. You can also find various rings with different benefits throughout your journey that can buff your character.
Alongside the main game you can collect relics that provide special missions with a specific objects. These missions can be highly challenging and will really test your skills when compared to the more casual dungeon of the story mode. In addition, the game also keeps track of all of the enemies you have defeated in the bestiary and you can train against these whenver you wish. This can help to understand the enemies movements when trying to finish a dungeon or relic mission.
Guy has a range of extras including its own in game achievements and statistics to track basically everything you do throughout the game. The stats include basic things like how may kills you have but goes into great death by tracking all the different ways you have died including: frozen, sliced, eaten and the ever mysterious 'other'. These are fun reminders about your journey through the game and it can be funny to see just how many times you have died even though you, I, thought the game was relievely easy. Alongside this, there are multiple difficulty modes if you want to further challenge yourself.
Overall I can say I enjoyed Guy Vs The Wicked and Nefarious Land it is a solid dungeon crawler that is best played with the mouse only option. While some, or a lot, of its jokes just make me sigh I am sure others will enjoy them. The great range of enemies and the pick up and play feel make for a fun and leisurely experience.
Scorer - 75/100
Game Name - Guy Vs The Wicked and Nefarious Land
Developer - Cog Monkeys
Genre - Action, Adventure, RPG,
Bundle - Indie Bundle - The Hellish Dungeons Bundle
